Sunday, January 6, 2019
Thursday, December 7, 2017
A Few Odds an Ends
I was looking through a notebook I keep that contains notes from golf lessons I have taken. The last playing lesson I took emphasized the tee shot. My note says, "Tee shot is paramount to making par. Work on these." So work on your driver, but work on hitting it straight, not far. If you can hit your irons straight, but not your driver, get a lesson. You'll never figure it out yourself.
There are several other notes that pertain only to me, but another general note is, "Make your targets very precise from the tee and the fairway." Think not only of which direction you want the shot to go, but on what spot do you want the ball to land. And it's a spot, not an area.
You know the bottom of your swing needs to be ahead of the ball. How do you do that? I practice this indoors with a fairway wood. I set up and take note of the place where the leading edge of the sole is. Then I make a slow-motion swing and try to lightly tap the rug with the sole of the club ahead of that place when I swing through. Hint: if you're not getting your weight to the left in the forward swing, and early in the forward swing, you won't be able to get the club out there.
I've been playing around with a short stroke for short putts this past week. It started out as the old pop stroke, but I quickly found out that the rapid stroke and percussive hit the word "pop" suggests is the wrong way to go about it. I'm finding success with a rhythmic stroke that nudges the ball to the hole. That might be a better starting point for you if you want try this out. I should also mention my upper arms rest against my sides for security. The advantage of a short stroke (about six inches for a 10-foot putt) is that the clubface stays square throughout. I'm only using this stroke for short putts I think I can sink. For longer putts, I go back to my sweeping pendulum stroke and the TAP method.
I read a tip in a current golf magazine that I thought might help. So I went out and tried it. The results were terrible. What I realized very quickly is that I was already doing what the tip suggested. In trying to follow the tip I did more of it and that was too much. Beware of tips you read in golf magazines.
There are several other notes that pertain only to me, but another general note is, "Make your targets very precise from the tee and the fairway." Think not only of which direction you want the shot to go, but on what spot do you want the ball to land. And it's a spot, not an area.
You know the bottom of your swing needs to be ahead of the ball. How do you do that? I practice this indoors with a fairway wood. I set up and take note of the place where the leading edge of the sole is. Then I make a slow-motion swing and try to lightly tap the rug with the sole of the club ahead of that place when I swing through. Hint: if you're not getting your weight to the left in the forward swing, and early in the forward swing, you won't be able to get the club out there.
I've been playing around with a short stroke for short putts this past week. It started out as the old pop stroke, but I quickly found out that the rapid stroke and percussive hit the word "pop" suggests is the wrong way to go about it. I'm finding success with a rhythmic stroke that nudges the ball to the hole. That might be a better starting point for you if you want try this out. I should also mention my upper arms rest against my sides for security. The advantage of a short stroke (about six inches for a 10-foot putt) is that the clubface stays square throughout. I'm only using this stroke for short putts I think I can sink. For longer putts, I go back to my sweeping pendulum stroke and the TAP method.
I read a tip in a current golf magazine that I thought might help. So I went out and tried it. The results were terrible. What I realized very quickly is that I was already doing what the tip suggested. In trying to follow the tip I did more of it and that was too much. Beware of tips you read in golf magazines.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Triangulated Approach Putting (TAP)
Often I will try something out for a few weeks and if it seems to be a good thing I will write a post about it. This one is different. I discovered it in 2015. I didn’t want to let you know about it until I was sure it was sound.
It is.
The method, which I call Triangulated Approach Putting (TAP) will revolutionize your approach putting.
The commonest reason you three-putt is that you leave your first putt too far from the hole. You get the distance wrong. TAP lets you leave that first putt right beside the hole. It is almost scary how good you will get.
TAP is based on this axiom: For any length of putt, if the length of the putting stroke is the sole distance generator, there is one, and only one, length of stroke that will send the ball that distance.
TAP shows you how to find the length of that stroke. I’ll explain the theory first and then get into the fine points.
In the diagram below, you see a line from the ball to the hole. That is the baseline of a triangle. The spot marked apex is where you stand to find the length of stroke. The line from the ball to the apex is the eyeline. The line from the apex to the hole, not being a factor, and is not labeled. Distances are exaggerated for clarity.
The apex is located at a standard spot, half the length of the baseline and offset three paces to the left (to the right for left-handed golfers). These distances are adjustable.
Stand at the apex and swing your putter back and forth while looking at the ball. Make a stroke such that the clubhead intersects the eyeline (an imaginary line coming straight at you from the ball). That stroke will send the ball the exact distance from where it now lies, to the hole.
That’s the theory. Here’s the practice.
(1) The length of the swing must be the sole distance generator. You cannot add any “hit” with your hands. That would be introducing another variable, which we do not want to do.
(2) You must hit the ball on the same spot of the putter’s face every time. The sweet spot is best. Erratic contact in this regard plays havoc with how much energy is imparted to the ball, and thus how far it goes.
(3) The speed of your putting stroke must be constant. Otherwise, you will unknowingly be imparting more or less energy to the ball, again affecting the distance it travels.
(4) The location of the apex is not fixed.
(a) If greens are slower or you are putting uphill, the apex must be more than halfway to the hole--point (A).
(b) If greens are faster or you are putting downhill, the apex must be less than halfway to the hole--point (B).
(c) Your putter can make a difference. If you are consistently leaving putts too long or too short, stand more or less than three paces from the baseline--closer to make putts go farther, or at more remove to make them travel shorter.
(5) An essential point is remembering the length of the stroke. After all, you have to walk over to the ball to hit the putt, and in that time you might forget. While at the apex, make several strokes that intersect the eyeline and pay attention to how that stroke feels to your body. There might be a slight stretching somewhere in your back, or your arms might brush against you in a certain way. When you get to the ball, recreate that sensation.
(6) Hit the ball with trust. TAP works if you let it.
Regarding the adjustments in (4), the more you practice TAP, the more accurate your adjustments will become.
Use TAP when distance is more important than line. How far from the hole that switch gets made is up to you, but ten feet is not too close.
I have tried this method on different practice greens, on different courses, and after I have adjusted to the conditions it always works.
You could take out all my posts from 2009 to date and nothing would be missing because you can read all of it somewhere else. I have just been adding emphasis or perhaps clarity.
But TAP is new. There is nothing remotely like it to be seen anywhere else. If you want to save strokes on the green starting almost overnight, here’s how. No kidding.
It is.
The method, which I call Triangulated Approach Putting (TAP) will revolutionize your approach putting.
The commonest reason you three-putt is that you leave your first putt too far from the hole. You get the distance wrong. TAP lets you leave that first putt right beside the hole. It is almost scary how good you will get.
TAP is based on this axiom: For any length of putt, if the length of the putting stroke is the sole distance generator, there is one, and only one, length of stroke that will send the ball that distance.
TAP shows you how to find the length of that stroke. I’ll explain the theory first and then get into the fine points.
In the diagram below, you see a line from the ball to the hole. That is the baseline of a triangle. The spot marked apex is where you stand to find the length of stroke. The line from the ball to the apex is the eyeline. The line from the apex to the hole, not being a factor, and is not labeled. Distances are exaggerated for clarity.
The apex is located at a standard spot, half the length of the baseline and offset three paces to the left (to the right for left-handed golfers). These distances are adjustable.
Stand at the apex and swing your putter back and forth while looking at the ball. Make a stroke such that the clubhead intersects the eyeline (an imaginary line coming straight at you from the ball). That stroke will send the ball the exact distance from where it now lies, to the hole.
That’s the theory. Here’s the practice.
(1) The length of the swing must be the sole distance generator. You cannot add any “hit” with your hands. That would be introducing another variable, which we do not want to do.
(2) You must hit the ball on the same spot of the putter’s face every time. The sweet spot is best. Erratic contact in this regard plays havoc with how much energy is imparted to the ball, and thus how far it goes.
(3) The speed of your putting stroke must be constant. Otherwise, you will unknowingly be imparting more or less energy to the ball, again affecting the distance it travels.
(4) The location of the apex is not fixed.
(a) If greens are slower or you are putting uphill, the apex must be more than halfway to the hole--point (A).
(b) If greens are faster or you are putting downhill, the apex must be less than halfway to the hole--point (B).
(c) Your putter can make a difference. If you are consistently leaving putts too long or too short, stand more or less than three paces from the baseline--closer to make putts go farther, or at more remove to make them travel shorter.
(5) An essential point is remembering the length of the stroke. After all, you have to walk over to the ball to hit the putt, and in that time you might forget. While at the apex, make several strokes that intersect the eyeline and pay attention to how that stroke feels to your body. There might be a slight stretching somewhere in your back, or your arms might brush against you in a certain way. When you get to the ball, recreate that sensation.
(6) Hit the ball with trust. TAP works if you let it.
Regarding the adjustments in (4), the more you practice TAP, the more accurate your adjustments will become.
Use TAP when distance is more important than line. How far from the hole that switch gets made is up to you, but ten feet is not too close.
I have tried this method on different practice greens, on different courses, and after I have adjusted to the conditions it always works.
You could take out all my posts from 2009 to date and nothing would be missing because you can read all of it somewhere else. I have just been adding emphasis or perhaps clarity.
But TAP is new. There is nothing remotely like it to be seen anywhere else. If you want to save strokes on the green starting almost overnight, here’s how. No kidding.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Unwind Through the Ball
The less you try to HIT the golf ball and the more you SWING THROUGH it, the better shots you are going to get. I keep looking for a way to explain that to myself, and this week’s version is, “unwind through the ball.”
That means, in the backswing wind up, and in the forward swing unwind in the same way, all the way through the ball. Not TO the ball, but through it. Big difference.
It’s like you turn yourself into a giant spring. You wind up the spring on the back swing and you unwind on the forward swing. The unwinding is performed in the same manner as the winding. It is not ease back, then fire through.
I think the reason this is so hard to do is that we want to HIT the ball along way. So it’s really hard for us to swing easy back and easy through. But that’s exactly what I think you have to do.
That will also make it easier to hold onto the angle between your forearm and the club shaft and not let it go too early. That way, the club builds up acceleration without you even feeling it. You LET the club do the work instead of MAKING it do the work.
Before you swing, remind yourself to wind up gently and unwind gently through the ball. Regardless of what you really look like when you swing, picture in your mind how smooth and graceful you must look.
Practice swinging like this in your living room or in your backyard. Than the next time you play, take a practice swing in slow motion that winds up and unwinds through the mall. Then step up to the ball and do the same swing, just a little faster. I think you’ll like what happens.
That means, in the backswing wind up, and in the forward swing unwind in the same way, all the way through the ball. Not TO the ball, but through it. Big difference.
It’s like you turn yourself into a giant spring. You wind up the spring on the back swing and you unwind on the forward swing. The unwinding is performed in the same manner as the winding. It is not ease back, then fire through.
I think the reason this is so hard to do is that we want to HIT the ball along way. So it’s really hard for us to swing easy back and easy through. But that’s exactly what I think you have to do.
That will also make it easier to hold onto the angle between your forearm and the club shaft and not let it go too early. That way, the club builds up acceleration without you even feeling it. You LET the club do the work instead of MAKING it do the work.
Before you swing, remind yourself to wind up gently and unwind gently through the ball. Regardless of what you really look like when you swing, picture in your mind how smooth and graceful you must look.
Practice swinging like this in your living room or in your backyard. Than the next time you play, take a practice swing in slow motion that winds up and unwinds through the mall. Then step up to the ball and do the same swing, just a little faster. I think you’ll like what happens.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Your Golf Has to Travel
A few days ago I got a wake-up call. I was doing business at an end of town I don’t spend a lot of time in, but which has a driving range nearby. So I took along a putter and a ball to get a little practice in before I went back home.
I get all of my putting practice on the green at the range where I normally go to. If you saw me putt on this green, you would say that I'm a very good putter. I make putts from all over the place, and I go around the putting clock and never three-putt.
Well.
On this new green, I couldn’t do a thing right. I was three-putting from twenty-five feet about half the time, it was hit-and-miss with four-footers, and my distance control was just nowhere.
I realized that I putted so well on my usual green not because of things that I thought made me a good putter. They didn’t have anything to do with it.
I had merely unconsciously memorized the green. That’s it. So when I went to this new green, I didn’t have the skills to handle the differences in green speed and contour.
I play the same courses, and I putt very well on them, because I have memorized their greens. It all adds up to having become lazy.
An under-appreciated aspect of the way Tour pros play the game is that their golf travels. They play different courses every week, that require different shots, that provide different responses to the shot, and you know what? They don’t care! The adapt after a practice round or two and it’s off to the birdie-fest.
You improve and become a Golfer by having skills that hold up under any condition. Looks like I have some work to do. How about you?
I get all of my putting practice on the green at the range where I normally go to. If you saw me putt on this green, you would say that I'm a very good putter. I make putts from all over the place, and I go around the putting clock and never three-putt.
Well.
On this new green, I couldn’t do a thing right. I was three-putting from twenty-five feet about half the time, it was hit-and-miss with four-footers, and my distance control was just nowhere.
I realized that I putted so well on my usual green not because of things that I thought made me a good putter. They didn’t have anything to do with it.
I had merely unconsciously memorized the green. That’s it. So when I went to this new green, I didn’t have the skills to handle the differences in green speed and contour.
I play the same courses, and I putt very well on them, because I have memorized their greens. It all adds up to having become lazy.
An under-appreciated aspect of the way Tour pros play the game is that their golf travels. They play different courses every week, that require different shots, that provide different responses to the shot, and you know what? They don’t care! The adapt after a practice round or two and it’s off to the birdie-fest.
You improve and become a Golfer by having skills that hold up under any condition. Looks like I have some work to do. How about you?
Thursday, August 24, 2017
The Handle Moves in Harmony With the Clubhead - Video Tip
Here is an alternate way of looking at the handle leading the clubhead.
I hope it helps.
I hope it helps.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Golf's Most Important Two Inches
Note: I got a bit behind on keeping this blog up to date. Expect a now post every few days. Sorry!
You're never going to hear the end of this from me. It's the most important swing fundamental there is. Your hands have to lead the clubhead.
A few weeks ago, I changed it to, the handle moves in harmony with the clubhead. Too wordy.
How about the handle leads the clubhead?
Whatever you call it, you see it demonstrated here by our new U.S. Open champion, Brooks Koepka. His hands got to the ball before the clubhead did. Not by much, only about two inches. But that's all it needs to be.
If you're not used to swinging through this position, it feels like your hands are two feet ahead of the clubhead, but they're not. They're ahead by just a little bit. But it's the most important little bit in golf.
You're never going to hear the end of this from me. It's the most important swing fundamental there is. Your hands have to lead the clubhead.
A few weeks ago, I changed it to, the handle moves in harmony with the clubhead. Too wordy.
How about the handle leads the clubhead?
Whatever you call it, you see it demonstrated here by our new U.S. Open champion, Brooks Koepka. His hands got to the ball before the clubhead did. Not by much, only about two inches. But that's all it needs to be.
If you're not used to swinging through this position, it feels like your hands are two feet ahead of the clubhead, but they're not. They're ahead by just a little bit. But it's the most important little bit in golf.
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